MOBILE, Alabama – In church, Catholic doctrine holds that marriage is an institution between and man and a woman.

In court, lawyers for a Catholic school in Mobile seemed to endorse the view that a lesbian partner is an equal parent to the birth mother.

The case involves a lawsuit accusing St. Pius X Catholic School of failing to protect a student from suffering severe bullying. Lawyers for the school sought permission to take sworn testimony from Christine Hernandez, the partner of the student's mother who has helped raise the child.

At a hearing last week, Mobile County Circuit Judge Sarah Stewart indicated that she would grant a request by the plaintiff to block the deposition on grounds that state law bans recognition of same-sex marriage, meaning that Hernandez and the child are "legal strangers."

Attorneys for St. Pius did not return phone calls seeking comment Monday. In a court filing, they argued that Hernandez has specific and unique knowledge about the child, referred to as A.S. in court papers.

"After all, it is undisputed that Christine Hernandez has repeatedly represented that she is a parent of A.S., both in discussions with St. Pius X School teachers, administrators, employees, and other personnel, and on written St. Pius X School forms, documents, and other papers," wrote the lawyers, who included a affidavit from the school's principal explaining the relationship between Hernandez and the child.

Hernandez has been "intimately involved during the 2010-2012 school years regarding A.S.'s enrollment and education at St. Pius X School," they wrote. "She was frequently on campus to make decisions regarding A.S.'s enrollment at St. Pius X School, and to act on her behalf in situations requiring parental approval and/or consent."

In an interesting twist, Hernandez, who is a local lawyer, is serving as co-counsel with attorneyDavid Kennedy in the bullying case against the school.

Kennedy said that Hernandez, if forced to testify, could be disqualified from the case. She might also be unable to represent three other children in bullying lawsuits against St. Pius X.

The position taken by the Catholic school's lawyers may be unusual given that civil and church law recognize only the biological parent in cases with same-sex couples. But Hernandez and Kennedy, too, found themselves in an odd situation.

While they cited state law to bolster their argument that Hernandez should not have to testify, they have argued in another case that the marriage law is unconstitutional. They represent a Mobile woman whose adoption application was rejected on the basis of the state's same-sex marriage ban.

In an interview, Kennedy said that notwithstanding his view of the law, it remains on the books until a court decides otherwise.

"In Alabama, the law of the land is still that a child can have one mother and one father but certainly not two mothers," he said.

Even without the same-sex marriage issues, Kennedy argued, Hernandez still should not be made to testify. He pointed to legal precedent setting a high hurdle for compelling lawyers to testify as fact witnesses in cases involving their clients. He said the defendant did not meet that burden.

Kennedy also said that to be considered the child's legal parent – even if Alabama's same-sex marriage ban were to be struck down – Hernandez would have to file a petition for a legal adoption.

In a prepared statement, Hernandez indicated a desire for attention not to be focused on her.

"This case is not about me. This case along with the other three that we have filed to date is about the children," she said. "The children that cried out for help and were ignored."

Kennedy said each of the four lawsuits is moving independently through the court system. He declined to discuss details about that type of abuse that the students faced but said the school did nothing to stop it.

"It really is not just the children who were bullied that were done a disservice here," he said, arguing that the school sent a troubling message to the students who inflicted the emotional pain. "That doesn't help the children who were doing the bullying here."